Volvo CE is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment for the construction and mining industries. They have a manufacturing facility and large offices in Bangalore as well as a nationwide network of dealer partners. Mr. Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice President and Head of Volvo CE India, shares his domain insights.
Can you brief us the major equipment and models thereof in your product program, the USPs and your plans to increase the market share in a competitive market?
The range of equipment in India includes excavators, wheel loaders, articulated haulers, asphalt pavers and compactors. Equipment from Volvo CE is well-known for its fuel-efficiency, productivity and reliability. As one of the market leaders in India, our focus is on building market share through the ongoing rollout of equipment that gives customers a competitive advantage. We also aim to offer the best customer support in the country.
Indicate the focus segments and the service support provided to keep the downtime of the production machines to the minimum.
Volvo CE is the only major manufacturer with a presence in the three major operating sectors: road building, mining and general construction. In road building our excavators, compactors and pavers are used in various stages of the process. For mining, our excavators, wheel loaders and articulated haulers can be found in operational functions; while our pavers and compactors are often used to build haul roads. In terms of general construction, because this sector is so broad, all of our equipment types may be used.
For our aftermarket service, Volvo CE offers a range of Customer Support Agreements (CSA), ranging from the standard White CSA up to the Gold CSA, which is our most comprehensive. This gives customers the ability to choose the right support package for them and also underlines our commitment to providing the very best support in the business.
Backhoe & excavators corner maximum market share in local market – what are the factors influencing such a trend? Also backhoe loaders sell more than excavators while the excavators dominate the scene in other industrialised countries – Can you comment on it?
Earthmoving is such a fundamental part of construction that it’s no surprise that excavators and backhoe loaders dominate sales. However in the past year we have also seen sales of road-building equipment pick up dramatically.
Additionally we are seeing the market in India maturing and companies recognize that specialist products deliver better productivity than generalist products. Which is why sales of excavators are on the rise at the expense of the backhoes, which have traditionally been Indian contractors’ preferred machines. We definitely see that changing.
TCO becomes critical for the production machines & in this regard, how do you find your machines meeting this requirement? What package do you offer to the small contractors and first time customers having a constraint on the initial investments?
We are confident that Volvo CE machines are among the best when it comes to Total Cost of Ownership. This is reinforced by the fact that India is home to some of the most sophisticated equipment buyers in the world, and our strong market position here reflects the levels of ROI we are able to bring to customers. Our superior fuel-efficiency, combined with high levels of productivity and excellent reliability all contribute to better profitability for owners. For smaller contractors, or those buying from us for the first time we offer a range of attractive financing options through our Volvo Financial Services arm
Rental and used equipment market share in the segment is very low; how do you see this evolving over a period of time? Comment on the supply of refurbished equipment, buy back scheme and financing options to customers.
We see the rental business in India growing, reflecting how our industry, and the economy as a whole, is maturing. Currently we do not offer refurbished Volvo machines in India, but we do have this service in other markets so it is something we will look at as we develop our business here. Our Volvo Financial Services arm has a strong presence in India and is able to offer customers a range of attractive funding options to support their equipment purchases.
Man-machine combination is considered critical in achieving overall productivity. In this regard comment on the importance of driver skillsets, training, availability, operating cabin ergonomics/comfort, etc., to meet the above objective.
At Volvo CE we firmly believe that equipment operators are one of the most important factors in the success of any project. We have a long history of driving skills and training for operators, as well as promoting greater appreciation for the work of these men and women.
In India we have been running our successful Operator Champion initiative for several years. As you might expect, this includes a competition to unearth the leading Volvo operator in the country. But it incorporates much more than that too. It’s about education, betterment and attracting more people to this industry.
A further demonstration of how highly we value operators is the quality and attention to detail you see in the cabs of our machines. Ergonomics, electronic controls, all-round visibility and supreme quality characterize our cabs and understandably make Volvo one of the most popular choices around among operators.
Can you comment on impact of technology down the timeline? viz., hybrid solution, fuel economy, electronics, telematics, automation, etc., on the CE equipment domain in general and earthmoving segment in particular?
Late last year we unveiled our vision of the future at our Xploration Forum in Sweden, and we were delighted to welcome many guests from India to the event. Among the demonstrations at the event were a presentation of a fully automated wheel loader and articulated hauler working in tandem. We also showed two concept machines, the LX1 loader and HX1 carrier, both powered by electric engines. For us, greater automation and the use of more electrics / electronics are two of the defining trends we see shaping our industry’s future.